Daniel Wilson, the author of the best-selling "Robopocalypse" and a Ph.D. alumnus of the Robotics Institute, is among the 25 most powerful authors in Hollywood, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The trade newspaper ranks Wilson 15th on its list of power writers,a list that includes J.K. Rowling, Tom Clancy and Stephen King. Robopocalypse, to be directed by Steven Spielberg, is slated for release in 2014.

Wilson told the newspaper that his Robotics Institute training has been important for his success: “I know a lot about something that used to be science fiction but is now fact.”